Grant: Operating Grant

There are over 100 types of liver disease and left untreated, these diseases can develop into liver cirrhosis. Thousands of Canadians die each year from liver cirrhosis causing liver failure. Currently the only treatment for liver failure is a transplant. However, treatment is hindered by a shortage of donor tissue. Thus, viable alternatives to donor liver transplant are required. Many researchers are trying to develop methods to make liver cells from other types of cells, including stem cells. The overarching question guiding our research is "How does the regulation of genes direct development of organs in the embryo?" While all tissues contain the same set of genes, specific subsets of genes are expressed specific cells. Transcription factors are proteins that determine which genes will be turned on or off in each tissue. We are interested in determining how switching genes on and off controls development of the liver in the mouse embryo. In this proposal, we will look will look at critical transcription factors that are involved in liver development and determine which genes these transcription factors control. From this, we will be able to build networks of genes that regulate liver formation. Next, we will test whether the transcription factors identified are able to transform adult cells, such as fibroblasts, into liver cells. Understanding how the liver develops in the embryo could contribute to the development of methods to produce liver cells in the laboratory that can be used for transplantation or gene therapy.